A Very Fishy Birthday
by Merekat
Summary: I had to admit that after killing three fish in a row, I’d given up on the whole institution." It's Bella's fourteenth birthday, and Renée takes her to, of all places, a pet store. Lots of Renée/Bella fluff and some angst.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: These characters are the intellectual property of Stephenie Meyer. No profit is being made from this story. No copyright infringement is intended.**

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_"He asked about my birthdays, my grade school teachers, my childhood pets - and I had to admit that after killing three fish in a row, I'd given up on the whole institution." -Twilight pg 258_

_"It's hard to know what a fish is thinking." -Eclipse _

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"Happy fourteenth birthday, Bella!"

I awoke to see my mother standing over me with balloons and a birthday cake. She looked excited, as always. Renée loved birthdays.

I groaned and rolled over in bed. "Unhhh, Mom..."

"Oh, sorry, did I wake you?"

"No, that's okay, I'm getting up." I forced myself to get up and look at the clock. It was already past ten - had I really slept so late? - on Saturday morning.

"Come down when you're ready and we can have cake."

"Birthday cake for breakfast?" Renée was known for her crazy ideas, but this was a first. Perhaps she was just trying to make up for all my previous birthday breakfasts, which usually went awry - or turned out to be inedible.

"Of course...if you want. It is your birthday, after all."

"I think we'd better wait until after dinner, Mom."

"Oh, okay. That sounds reasonable."

She left, and I got dressed. I was never really big on birthdays; you were just celebrating being a year older, which, in my book, wasn't really much to celebrate at all. But I was happy to see her happy, so I played along.

After breakfast (eggs and bacon; I left the cake in its plastic container) Renée hustled me out the door. "Come on, Bella," she said excitedly. "We need to go pick out your present."

Every year, Renée had some grand plan for a big birthday celebration. We would go to the zoo, or the water park, or a baseball game. Sometimes her plans fell through; we would get lost, or wouldn't be able to buy tickets at the last minute. But we usually had fun anyway, and my birthdays were never boring.

I followed her out the door, past the big eucalyptus tree in our yard, and into our new-to-us car - I had purchased it with her just a few months ago; my presence was needed to be sure that my mother would not fall into a used car salesman's inequitable deal.

About ten minutes into the drive, I started to get impatient. "Uh, Mom...Where exactly are we going?"

She smiled passionately, as she did whenever she had a new scheme or obsession. "You'll see."

We pulled into the parking lot of a strip mall, and I recognized the store in front by its neon sign and the numerous small animals looking out the store windows.

"You're taking me to a pet store?" I asked skeptically. Usually her birthday plans were more elaborate than that, and I wondered exactly what this would entail.

She looked confused. "Yes, didn't you say you wanted a puppy for your birthday?"

"Mom, that was two years ago."

She looked surprised and slightly hurt, so I quickly backpedaled. "It's okay, though. I'm sure I'll find something in here I want. We won't come back empty-handed, I promise."

This seemed to placate her. We entered the store, and Renée immediately went to the nearest glass cage. "Oh, look at these little bunnies! They're so cute!"

We both knew that Renée was too irresponsible to have a pet. What if she forgot to feed it or take it outside? What if it peed on the rug or chewed up the sofa? I knew, however, that she was trying to make me happy, so I would have to oblige her - even if it meant I was the one stuck taking care of it later.

I looked around for a sales clerk and quickly spotted one and got her attention. "Yes? How may I help you?" she asked.

"I need something low maintenance." Something that wouldn't be fraught with disaster.

"How about a hamster?"

"Okay."

She escorted me to the hamster cages. They looked innocent enough, with their cute little cheeks swollen with their next meal.

"You can hold one, if you want."

"Umm..." I hadn't had much experience with holding live animals. "Okay. How about that one?" I pointed to a little brown-and-white creature that looked particularly calm and non-threatening.

The sales clerk, whose nametag said Michelle, reached into the cage and scooped up the tiny furball. She quickly examined him before handing him to me. "This one's a boy," she confirmed.

I looked into his little beady eyes. "Aww, he's so cu-OW!! He bit me!" After I recovered from the shock, I realized that I had dropped him, and he was quickly scampering away - with Michelle not far behind. I examined my hand. There were little droplets of blood on my finger. I suddenly felt queasy.

"Oh, honey, are you all right?" It was Renée; she had seen the whole debacle from the adjacent aisle. "Maybe we should get something that's not so...feral." My thoughts exactly.

Michelle returned, hamster in tow. "I'm truly sorry about that; the hamsters are usually really gentle. He must've mistaken your finger for a piece of food or something."

"Maybe I just smelled particularly delicious," I mumbled under my breath.

"Anyway," said Renée, "I think we'd like something a little less hands-on."

"How about a fish?"

A fish would be perfect, I thought suddenly. I had always loved watching them - in the tide pools of First Beach with Charlie, and in little koi ponds and fountains with my mom. They always looked so peaceful and content in their own little watery world. "A fish sounds great," I said.

Michelle took us on a tour of the rows and rows of fish tanks, describing each one as we passed it. There were angelfish, rainbowfish, clownfish, and many others whose names I forgot as soon as I heard them. I finally settled on three very pretty butterfly tail goldfish, after Renée suggested that one would get lonely by itself. I picked out a relatively inexpensive fish tank, Michelle instructed me on how to use it and clean it, and we paid and left.

I sighed in relief; we had escaped in one piece. I looked down at my finger again. Well, almost.

**A/N: If you read the whole chapter and you liked it, review! If you didn't like it, review anyway! Just be specific about what you didn't like (AKA no flames, please).**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: These characters are the intellectual property of Stephenie Meyer. No profit is being made from this story. No copyright infringement is intended.**

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Chapter Two

As soon as we got home, I got to work on the fish tank. It was rectangular, and about a foot and a half wide. After much deliberation I decided to place it by the large window on the south wall of the family room, a spot where it could be easily seen and where I wouldn't forget to feed them. The cheeriness of the aquarium would also offset the dark wooden walls and dark carpet.

Having inherited Charlie's clumsiness, I had to be careful not to trip with the fish tank – it was heavy and made of glass, and I didn't want to end up in the emergency room. With the help of Renée, I filled it with the colored pebbles and seaweed from the pet store and cold water, as directed, and plopped the three fish in from their little water-filled plastic baggies. They seemed to adjust fairly well, but the tank did look a little plain; I made a mental note to get some aquarium decorations from the pet store next time we were out.

"Well, what are you going to name them?" asked Renee after we were all finished. I had thought about this; I decided on Lizzy, Jane, and Kitty, after three of the Bennet daughters in my favorite novel, _Pride and Prejudice_. Of course, this was assuming they were all girls, although honestly, I couldn't tell the difference. That settled, I went upstairs while Renee fixed a late lunch – nothing _too_ creative, she promised.

I was in the bathroom, putting iodine and a Band-Aid on my finger (I didn't think a hamster from a pet store would be infected with disease, but better safe than sorry), when she called me back down. "Bella! Come open your present from Charlie!"

Charlie's gift was long and thin, wrapped in festive paper and enclosed in a larger cardboard box. I carefully unwrapped it; it was a sterling silver necklace and matching charm bracelet with miniature stars and moons. I sighed in relief; it seemed that Charlie had finally realized that I was too old to play with dolls. No more teddy bears and tea sets, I supposed – or at least, I hoped. Maybe this meant that he had finally accepted the fact that I was growing up.

There was a card, too, and I opened it.

_Dear Bella,_ it read, _Happy fourteenth birthday. I hope you and Renee are both getting along well. I'll see you next summer. Don't grow up too fast. Love, Dad._

I called and thanked him profusely, to a gruff "Don't mention it" – but I could tell he was pleased.

Renee and I ate sandwiches (and birthday cake – I finally gave in) outside under the afternoon shade of the eucalyptus tree. We talked briefly about Charlie, and Renee told me how her kindergarten class was doing – who had wet their pants, the latest crayon masterpiece. After that I excused myself, and went to attend to my new companions.

I stared into the fish tank thoughtfully. Lizzy and Jane were swimming around somewhat aimlessly, and Kitty, the one with the white patch on her face, was hiding behind a piece of seaweed. I shook some fish flakes into the water and watched as they swallowed with their tiny toothless mouths.

"I wish I knew what you were thinking," I said. "Do you know that you're in a little tiny tank, and not in a pond outdoors? Do you feel trapped and alone?" I immediately thought of Forks and realized that I knew how they might feel. "Can you even hear me?" I said, louder.

Obviously, the exercise was pointless. They swam on, totally oblivious to me and my questions about life and human (or fishy) existence.

I went to my room and read from my _Compilation of the Works of Jane Austen_ for a few hours, and then changed into my holey pajamas and went to bed.

**A/N: Once again, please review!! I'm planning on writing one more chapter (which will hopefully be a little more climactic), and it should be out this week or next.**


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